Monday, May 02, 2011

Buzz Williams has added another commitment to his 2012 recruiting class. Point guard TJ Taylor has taken the long road to Marquette, but will come in as a sophomore JUCO transfer from Paris Junior College in Texas.

At a glance, Taylor looks like the ideal point guard Buzz has been looking for. He stands 6'3" and is a chiseled 220 pounds. According to his original 2010 ESPN profile, Taylor can finish while drawing contact, hit the mid-range jumper, or run the team and distribute. They rated the Denison, TX star as the #78 prospect in 2010, but at the time, Buzz lost out to Oklahoma.

Taylor never suited up for the Sooners. A preseason concussion led to Taylor redshirting, but he decided in December to leave Oklahoma. Taylor transferred to Paris, where he will play in the 2011-12 season. It seems that NCAA transfer rules are forcing this. Taylor could either play at a junior college with his freshman year of eligibility in 2011-12 or sit out a season at Marquette and retain the eligibility. However, he would then be a third-year freshman, giving him three years to complete his four years of eligibility. Rather than risk losing a year, Taylor will play at Paris, then complete his transfer to Marquette as a sophomore in 2012-13.

So what does this mean for Marquette? Well, Buzz still has one scholarship left for 2011-12, since Taylor will not count on our scholarship table next season while he plays at Paris JC. Buzz could also hold on to the scholarship and use it in 2012-13. While Buzz's history indicates he doesn't like to bank scholarships, this may be the time to do it, as most of our top recruits for this season have already been signed, while numerous top 100 targets for 2012-13 are still out there.

Regardless, this helps reinforce Buzz's desire to bring in a point guard every year, as Taylor follows Derrick Wilson, Reggie Smith, and Junior Cadougan. Now all he needs is one more big man to complete his 2012-13 class. Alex Poythress, Shaquille Cleare, and Jarnell Stokes would all fit the mold. Let's hope Buzz can find that big man to put the finishing touch on what is looking like another solid recruiting class.

2 comments:

As far as Dunn and York, I'm guessing that the Taylor signing will end our pursuit of them, though Taylor had similar ratings in 2010 before his reclassification and JUCO transfer. Buzz has said he wants a big and a point in every class. Taylor covers the point for 2012, but we still have no big. I'm guessing that unless Buzz gets a big with the last 2011 scholarship, he'll hold it for 2012 where we have interest from five-stars like Shaquille Cleare, Mitch McGary, Alex Poythress, and Jarnell Stokes.